The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Slain I 460 or shortly beforehand1
Race
Division
Culture
Family
Pronunciation
ay'linel
Meaning
Uncertain1

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 20 July 2024
  • This entry is complete

Eilinel

The wife of Gorlim

Before war descended on the northern lands, Gorlim and Eilinel were husband and wife in Dorthonion. Gorlim went to fight for his lord Barahir, but when he returned to his house, he found it ransacked and empty, and his wife Eilenel was lost. At this time Dorthonion was overrun by Morgoth's forces, and so Gorlim fled into the hills with Barahir and his men, now reduced to desperate outlaws in their own land. He could not forget Eilinel, though, and would often return to his deserted house in hope of finding her there.

One day, he discovered her gaunt and forlorn figure in the ruins of their house, but when he went to her, he was captured and taken to Sauron. The figure he had seen was a phantom devised for that very purpose. After a long resistance, Gorlim at last agreed to betray Barahir if he could be reunited with Eilinel. Sauron agreed, and after discovering where the outlaws were hidden, kept his part of the bargain by torturing Gorlim to death.


Notes

1

The year I 460 is the date that Eilinel's husband Gorlim was slain. He had been tricked by Sauron into hoping that his wife might still be alive, but in fact she had already lost her life. So, the latest possible date of her death would be I 460, but at that time the land of Dorthonion had been occupied for five years, and she might conceivably have met her end at any point during that five-year period.

2

The name Eilinel dates back to early phases of Tolkien's writing, but its meaning is never explained. It perhaps relates to an old Elvish root *ay-lin- meaning 'pool' or 'lake', though this connection is speculative, and Tolkien himself offers no interpretation of the name.

See also...

The Unhappy

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 20 July 2024
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2006, 2020, 2024. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.
Add your corporate identity to your DISC profiles and DISC reports with Discus' branding features.
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Menu
Homepage Search Latest Entries and Updates Random Entry